Hexa is Tata’s most premium car yet and is their big bet on moving upmarket.It is chiefly aimed to attract the premium car buyer but is it good enough, let’s find out.
It’s bold looking, has chiselled angular details on the body, a honeycombed grill, a stylish front bumper and a tough jawline. It is based on the Aria platform.
The Hexa’s certainly got the size (it’s 4,788mm long and 1,791mm tall) and the ground clearance (200mm) which ensures a better off road journey. The 19-inch wheels are the largest in class but amidst the vast body, they look sunken.
The cabin scores brilliantly in terms of quality. The contrast stitching on leather seats, the knitted roof, everything has a touch of premiumness. The presence of dual glove boxes, one of which is a chiller is new when it comes to Tata. Although the central area lack space which is usually used to keep mobile phones etc.It comes loaded with equipment.
Since it is a 7 seater and the seats don’t flatten out entirely, fitting in big suitcases wouldn’t be that easy. For someone small, fitting in the crucial third row wouldn’t pose a problem but for anybody a tad bit taller, it’s inconvenient. The Hexa is powered by the 2.2-litre Varicor diesel power plant.This unit’s 2,179cc makes a healthy 156hp and 400Nm (hence the ‘400’ in the engine name), but the figures are not so impressive when you account for the fact that the motor also has to lug 2.2-tonnes plus.It is offered with a 6-speed manual and a 6-speed auto as well.The engine is responsive and talky. The automatic gearshifts are fluid and quick, although the auto transmission is overly eager to drop a gear or two with even a gentle flex of your right foot. The clutch too isn’t very progressive, so at crawling speeds it gets jerky but once you pick up the pace, the engine has a quite nice pull.
It offers a brilliant sense of security around the corners and the grip is good. The automatic mode is a lot better than the manual mode. The all-wheel-drive-equipped Hexa offers four drive modes namely: Comfort, Dynamic, Rough and Auto. The safety suite is comprehensive and includes 6 airbags.
As passengers, the ride is extremely comfortable with ample leg space and comfortably cushioned seats.There are central and side vents for A.C and the sun blinds too. It pretty much absorbs all the shocks and isolates the passengers.As a standalone product in the market, the Hexa is hugely impressive.With a mileage of 17.6 kmpl and price of 11.99 lakhs for the base diesel going up to 17.49 lakhs for the highest variant, Hexa is a promising vehicle. Tata Motors seem to have added all they can into Hexa and we feel, it is genuinely worth buying with all the money gets you.
